Greetings Cansecoites...

Jose didn't start Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, so he could rest his
sore calf, but he was used as a pinch hitter both Wednesday and
Thursday. He went 0-2. Back in the lineup on Friday, Jose went deep,
launching his 5th homer of the year. He was 0 for 4 on Saturday, but that
shouldn't count - Pedro Martinez was pitching. I'm impressed Jose only
accounted for one of Pedro's 17 strikeouts.

Sunday started off good, but went down hill from there. Jose doubled in
his first at bat and knocked in two runs, but he struck out in his final
four trips to the plate. Ouch. Last night Jose was 2-4 with another RBI
double, and is now batting .274 for the year.

I've been hearing more rumors about Jose being traded to the Yankees. I
didn't think this would happen until later in the season, but I received
quite a few emails yesterday on this subject.... I'll let you know if I
hear anything substantial...

All the latest news is below, including a great article about Jose's
respect for Pedro and the way he pitches.

I'll be in touch...
Mark

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From the St. Petersburg Times:
Rest prescribed to help Canseco
By Marc Topkin and John Romano
May 3, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Manager Larry Rothschild wants to get Jose Canseco back
to full speed. And he's willing to play without him for three days to do so.

Rothschild plans to hold Canseco out of the three-game Texas series in
hopes rest will heal a sore right calf that has severely limited Canseco on
the bases and perhaps at the plate.

"He has not been the impact player he should be," Rothschild said.

Canseco has been bothered by calf and hamstring problems since spring
training and has had a hard time doing anything more than jogging around
the bases. While he has a batting average of .284, he has shown limited
power (four homers and five doubles) and has not pulled the ball to
leftfield as much as he usually does.

Basically, Rothschild is hoping that resting Canseco now keeps him
healthier later, starting with Friday's game in Boston.

"As the manager, my perspective has got to be the whole schedule," he said.
"If I take a chance now, and I did in Anaheim a little bit, it's just not
worth it. I've got to get him back because he's too good a player. Some of
the speed on the bases, the swing I think has been somewhat affected in
that you've seen him hit the ball to centerfield and rightfield a lot more
and a lot more ground balls, and not swing the way he's capable of. I
assume the responsibility of making that decision and getting him healthy."

Canseco said he showed up at the stadium Tuesday expecting to play and was
surprised by the news. "I definitely want to play; I don't know how else to
put it," Canseco said. "They made the decision. I can't insert myself in
the lineup. ... I guess they would rather have me 100 percent healthy than
have me running the way I've been running."

The move could have financial ramifications for Canseco, whose contract has
incentives based on plate appearances.

Bubba Trammell was the DH in Canseco's place Tuesday. Fred McGriff may get
a turn with Steve Cox playing first either tonight or Thursday.

==========
From the Tampa Bay Tribune:
Canseco benched

Manager Larry Rothschild agonized over the decision. It's understandable.
After all, the Devil Rays' lineup without DH Jose Canseco is a little like
the Bucs' defense without Warren Sapp. But after thinking it over for two
days, Rothschild decided a short-term sacrifice of some of the batting
order's swagger and punch is preferable to a potential long-term stint on
the disabled list for one of Tampa Bay's biggest bats.

``I'll be real clear: I made the decision. He would like to play, but I've
got to get that leg healthy,'' Rothschild said. ``It's a [right calf], and
it's nothing more than that at this point. ... As a manager, my perspective
has to be for the whole schedule. If I take that chance now ... it's just
not worth it right now.''

Canseco will rest the right calf throughout the current three-game home
series against the Rangers. Rothschild said he expects Canseco to be ready
to return for Friday's game at Boston.

Canseco was informed of the decision when he arrived at Tropicana Field on
Tuesday. Rothschild already had posted a lineup including Canseco, but he
did so knowing he'd change it after speaking to the DH about it.

It was clear before the game that Canseco was disappointed.

``They made the decision,'' Canseco said. ``I can't insert myself into the
lineup. ... I can't run like I like to. And I think it shows when I'm
running to first base. I guess they would rather have me 100 percent than
running the way I am.''

Rothschild didn't rule out the possibility Canseco might pinch-hit during
the brief homestand, but said he didn't think it was likely.

``We've tried to play through it,'' Rothschild said. ``We had the two days
in Baltimore when we had the rain, and I thought that was going to lead
into him being healthy again and it didn't. So now I've got to make this
decision.

``I thought about it all day yesterday and on the plane [back from Anaheim]
the night before. From strictly a baseball side, I need to get him back to
the way Jose Canseco can play.''

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:

...With two on, one out and the announced crowd of 14,064 making some
noise, the Rangers brought in closer John Wetteland. He got Vinny Castilla
on a foul pop between home and third. And Jose Canseco, batting for Cox,
ripped a grounder up the middle. Second baseman Luis Alicea, shifted over
behind the base, turned it into an inning ending force play....

SURPRISE APPEARANCE: Rothschild wanted to keep Jose Canseco on the bench
during the three-game series to give his ailing right calf a rest, but the
manager used him as a pinch-hitter with two on and two out in the eighth.

Canseco worked the count to 2-2 and fouled off a pair of John Wetteland
fastballs before hitting into a force play.

"You don't know if you're going to get another shot to tie the game, so I'm
going to send (Canseco) up there and let him try to hit a ball out of the
park. I would have run for him if I had to," Rothschild said. "I'll take
that chance every time."

==========
From the Tampa Tribune:

...By keeping it close, Rays pitchers gave the hitters a chance to get
something done. But after Greg Vaughn singled in the eighth to drive home
the Rays' only run, he and Fred McGriff were stranded as Rangers' closer
Wetteland retired pinch hitter Jose Canseco on a ground ball to a shifted
infield to end the inning.

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:

...The Rays had another opportunity to catch up in the sixth. Canseco hit
Martinez's first pitch over -- and that would be well over -- the 23-foot
high screen that sits atop the 37-foot high leftfield wall, a blast that
seemed to be conservatively estimated at 413 feet and made the score 5-3.
It was Canseco's 47th homer in 597 career Fenway at-bats, an impressive
average of one every 12.7 at-bats....

==========
From Boston Globe:

...The Devil Rays chipped away at Martinez with a run in the fifth, and
then picked up another run in the sixth when Jose Canseco hit
a moon shot over the left-field screen. ''I've hit a few homers in this
park,'' said Canseco, whose shot carried an estimated 415 feet. ''But we
still lost. I told myself to be aggressive on anything around the plate,
and I got a ball I could drive.''

=========
From the Boston Herald:
Bad timing for Jose: Canseco can't avoid Pedro
By Karen Guregian
Saturday, May 6, 2000

As Red Sox fans learned not so long ago, Jose Canseco is rarely, if ever,
shy about offering his opinion on any subject.

The Tampa Bay slugger wasn't bashful about commenting on Pedro Martinez'
five-game suspension for plunking Robbie Alomar last week.

``It stinks!'' Canseco said last night when asked about Major League
Baseball's idea of justice.

Only, in the former Sox DH's mind, the reason it stinks has more to do with
timing than merit.

``If he was serving the suspension now,'' Canseco said, ``I'd be saving
myself a few strikeouts.''

I guess that would mean Canseco was not looking forward to facing the Sox'
ace this afternoon.

``Hell, no,'' he said with a smile. ``It's going to be tough. He's the best
there is, the best I've ever seen.''

Considering the pitchers Canseco has faced during his 15-year career,
that's a pretty impressive compliment toward Martinez, who is currently
appealing the suspension.

Canseco, who hit a bomb off Ramon Martinez in last night's 5-3 Red Sox win,
has stepped to the plate against such greats as Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton
(although not in his prime), Jack Morris, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson,
David Cone, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz.

``(Pedro) has control with velocity and movement. It's just devastating,''
said Canseco, who has homered once off Martinez. ``The other thing, he can
throw any pitch at any time for a strike, which is extremely difficult for
a hitter. Any pitcher who can throw breaking balls for strikes during
fastball counts is going to be untouchable.''

When asked his strategy at the plate when facing Martinez, Canseco once
again reverted to humor.

``Basically, I'm up there praying real hard,'' cracked Canseco, who is
closing in on the 500-career homer mark. ``Actually, I'm just hoping he
makes a mistake. That he hangs me a pitch over the plate that I can handle.
With a pitcher like that, it's just incredibly difficult. Too difficult.''

All joking aside, Canseco actually supported what Martinez did against the
Cleveland Indians, from the retaliatory strike against Alomar, to the
brushback of Einar Diaz.

Pitchers have to protect the plate, as well as their teammates. That's just
how it is.

``Five games is pretty tough,'' Canseco said. ``Pedro's in a situation
where he has to do what the manager says. He has to protect his teammates.
He's the ace of that staff, the leader of that ballclub. It's a delicate
situation. He has to do it whether he wants to do it or not. And he did it
the right way. He hit (Alomar) in the butt.''

As for the brushback pitch, Canseco agrees it belongs in baseball as long
as it's thrown below the shoulders.

Given the way he hangs over the plate, Canseco has been the recipient of
many a purpose pitch in his day.

Unlike Diaz, however, Canseco has a habit of reciprocating by sending the
next pitch out of the park. He doesn't whine or cry foul. He glares at the
pitcher, points to the fence, and deposits it way back. Red Sox fans saw
him do that several times when he played here.

``I know it's part of the game,'' Canseco said. ``As a power hitter, it's
going to happen. I stand close to the plate, so I accept it. But there's a
difference between a brushback pitch and someone trying to hit you. A big
difference.

``A pitcher can pitch inside, but it's dangerous if he comes up and in,''
he said. ``What's the vital organ we have up there? The brain? Obviously,
you can do severe damage. You never want to see that.''

Just like most hitters never want to see Pedro. Standing up at the plate
against him isn't much fun.

As Canseco correctly pointed out: ``It stinks.''

==========
From the Boston Herald:

...Martinez allowed a mammoth home run to Jose Canseco (over the Green
Monster, screen and parking garage across Lansdowne Street) and was removed
after allowing a single to the next batter, Fred McGriff....

==========
From the St. Petersburg Times:

TRADE WINDS: With a handful of New York scouts in Boston on Sunday and the
Rays heading to the Big Apple, there has been media speculation about the
Yankees' potential interest in Jose Canseco. Canseco, who would fit nicely
in the Yankees lineup, said Sunday he hadn't heard any of the talk this
time. "If there were any rumors, they'll probably stop now since I struck
out four times,' he said. "You'd figure Pedro (Martinez) was pitching the
way I went." ... For what it's worth, ESPN's Peter Gammons says the Tigers
inquired again about Randy Winn and are offering Tony Clark, but that the
Rays instead asked about star pitching prospect Matt Anderson.

=============
Mark Petrillo
mark@...
Canseconet.com - The Jose Canseco Site